The Better Business Bureau, a non-profit consumer protection organisation dating back to 1912, has been flooded with complaints about the activities of some of the exit companies.
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Ms Callis turned to the Newton Group, having previously attended a breakfast for disgruntled owners hosted by another timeshare exit company.Īs far back as 2014, the US Federal Trade Commission warned consumers about rogue timeshare exit companies, which, for a fee, promise either to help rip up the contract or offer to sell the property – before disappearing with clients' money. Using hard-sell tactics similar to those used to lure people into timeshare ownership in the first place, the exit companies charge upfront fees that can be as high as $10,000. While the Newton Group delivered for Ms Callis, there are many unscrupulous operators in the burgeoning "timeshare exit" industry, Mr Newton adds. In most cases, clients will see a return on their timeshare exit fee after three to five years, Mr Newton says. If a deal cannot be reached, the company enlists the help of lawyers. It negotiates with the timeshare resorts to agree an exit fee from the contract. The company, which says it represents thousands of clients a year, charges a flat fee for its services. They are no longer travelling and don’t need it," he says.įor a fee of $7,000, Mr Newton succeeded in extricating Ms Callis from her timeshare contracts. "There is also a life cycle of ownership and there are many owners who loved their timeshare experience but are simply ready to end it.
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Gordon Newton, president and founder of the Newton Group, which specialises in helping owners exit their contracts, estimates that as many as one million people in the US are desperate to offload their timeshares. The Spanish Supreme Court also imposed a 50-year limit on timeshare contracts signed after January 5, 1999, while Australian law now caps contracts at 80 years. Timeshare owners in Europe are in a better position and protected by a 2008 European Union directive that outlawed perpetual contracts. But for many, they are a financial millstone. This means that a timeshare property forms part of an estate, which can be a welcome gift. Advanced in years, some are in poor health, making travel to their properties more difficult.īut as the owners discovered, timeshares are notoriously difficult to sell on, especially in the US where most contracts have a perpetuity clause, which means the obligations are passed on from generation to generation.
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These studies were carried out before the Covid-19 pandemic, which left millions of timeshare owners unable to use their timeshare properties because of travel restrictions.Īnother factor in the groundswell of discontent is that the first generation of owners are now well into their 60s and the attraction of their timeshares is waning.
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However, in 2019, the American Resort Development Association, the trade association that represents the timeshare industry, said on its website that 85 per cent of timeshare owners are content – even if the remaining 15 per cent were unhappy. There is no guarantee when they get to use their timeshare unless they signed a "fixed-week" contract. With an average price in the US of around $20,000 and maintenance charges of $880 a year, timeshares seem an attractive option.īut from a consumer’s point of view, there is a major issue. The principle underpinning timeshare properties is that ownership and running costs are shared, theoretically making a holiday home affordable. Hotel groups including the Wyndham, Disney Vacation Club, Marriot Vacation Club, Hyatt Residence Club, Hilton Grand Vacations and Diamond Resorts are the major timeshare players in the US. More than half are in the US with over 206,000 units spread across 1,500 resorts, while Europe has about 25 per cent of the share, it adds. There are timeshare properties in an estimated 180 countries and more than 20 million households around the world have ploughed money into them, according to statistics by the Timeshare Consumer Guide. Worldwide, the industry is worth an estimated $14 billion a year, according to research by business analyst Brandon Gaille.